line up 1  

- Sue Roberson -- vocals

- none known

Genre: disco

Rating: 3 stars ***

Title:  A Surge of Energy

Company: Brylen

Catalog: BN 4484
Year: 1983

Country/State: US

Grade (cover/record): NM/NM

Comments: sealed

Available: SOLD

Catalog ID: SOLD 1558

Price: SOLD $180.00

I've got no idea if Brylen Records was a tax scam outfit.  My guess is it was.   Regardless, the majority of the company's catalog seems to have been oriented to country artists.  That makes  this 1983 disco-oriented release an oddity for the label.  Note that was not meant as any type of comment about artistic quality.  Like your typical tax scam release, "A Surge of Energy"  provided little in the way of biographical material.   Presumably there was a Sue Roberson, but who knows and it certainly seems she had little to do with this release.  As with your typical tax scam album  there were no production credits, no writing credits and no performance credits.  It was one big mystery.   But it gets even stranger.  Seven of these tunes had previously seen the light of day on a 1980 album credited to The Bad Girls - 1980's "Guilty" (Gemini Records catalog number A.G. 4302).  Those seven tracks were round out by three "new" efforts - 'Too Hot To Trot', 'Spoiled Like A Baby' and 'Candy Cane'.  As for the original source for this material, The Bad Girls album was released on the Gemini label which was associated with the Album Globe label and widely recognized as a tax scam entity.  

"A Surge of Energy" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Let's Skate Tonight - 7:00  rating: ** stars

Oh my goodness, skate disco.  Talk about niche genre.   Roberson actually sounded like she had a decent enough voice, though it was totally wasted on this mindless dance tune. 

2.) Midnight Energy (Norbert Stovall) - 2:47  rating: ** stars

Oh my goodness.  Powered by syndrums, various synthesizers bleeps and burps and hopelessly cheery female vocals, 'Midnight Energy' really didn't reflect much energy.  The wierd start-and-stop song structure would have made it hard to dance to.  In the end it sounded like a really  bad slice of '70s German disco outfit.  Imagine Silver Convention after a week of sleepless partying.  Totally yech !!!  

3.) Magic Eyes (Hirt - DIeter - Klaus - A.G. Serose) - 2:20

4.) Summertime (George Gershwin - Ira Gershwin) - 6:03  rating: ** stars

5.) Too Hot To Trot  rating: ** stars

Not exactly Roberson's best performance ...  'Too Hot To Trot' was simply boring; too slow to be a good dance tune, too quick to be a slow dance number.  She was clearly striving for sultry, yearning delivery.  Didn't get there.   Add in a lackidasical, slightly strained  vocal and some cheesy synthesizers and it was a big zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.   

(side 2)
1.) Just Cause I'm Gulity (Clayton Ivy - T. Woodford - R. Clark - L. Ladford - J. Wallace) - 5:28

One of the three "new" tunes that had not been issued on the Bad Girls LP.

2.) Blown Away (L.T. Davis - C. Marshall) - 5:10 rating: *** stars

Unintentionally the album's funniest tune, Roberson was multi-tracked and ended up sounding like a cross between Kate Bush (at her most operatic) and Donna Summer doing her "singing orgasm" moves.   It wasn't good.  It wasn't enjoyable.  Roberson clearly wasn't comfortable operating in those higher ranges.   It was strange so I'll give it an extra star for breaking the disco routine.

3.) We Feel In Love While Dancin' (Jessie Boyce - Moses Dillard) - 5:25  rating: ** stars

Jesse Boyce and Moses Dillard wrote it and southern soulster Bill Brandon did the original and far superior version.   Aside from some nice poppin' bass moves, this cover of 'We Feel In Love While Dancin'' had to be one of the mostly mindless slices of disco you've ever heard.  In fact, it was so bad, it actually ended up having a certain quirky charm.  

4.) Spoiled Like a Baby

The second "new" tune that had not been issued on the Bad Girls LP.

5.) Candy Cane

The other "new" effort.